Tampa, FL - Media Review Quotes
By Jay Cridlin
Compared to Kiss’ orgiastic display, Def Leppard kept things relatively simple, even though they’re more than capable of headlining the Amphitheatre in their own right.
Though he called this "one of the hottest gigs we've ever played," singer Joe Elliott held up pretty well for most of their 75-minute set, limiting himself to one change of sweat-soaked blazer and even hitting some of those fist-pumping high notes on encore closer Photograph.
But as (mostly) good as Elliott looked and sounded, Def Leppard’s secret stars were, as always, its sleeveless string section, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell and bassist Rick Savage, who spun around Elliott like a heavenly hair-metal chorus, whoa-oh-oh-ing while twiddling out squealing, spiralling, roller-coaster solos. They may have looked like Spinal Tap caricatures of aging '80s excess, but musically? Every song sounded like it could have been pumped in from SiriusXM's Hair Nation.
It was a hit-packed set, one that kept the focus squarely on Def Leppard's robust catalog, from randy buzzsaw boogies like Rocket and Let's Get Rocked to all-time lighter-lifters Love Bites and Bringin' On the Heartbreak. That last one started out acoustic, then exploded into a full-band rock-along, and if there'd been a pole on the Amphitheatre's lawn, all 14,500 of us would've hopped right up on it.
By Tampa Bay Times 2014.
Read the full review/6 photos at - tampabay.com
By Rick Bennett
They may want to rock and roll all night and party every day. However, work, kids and age has caught up with the capacity crowd at the MidFlorida Credit Union Ampitheatre, causing many of us to rock until 11ish before worrying about how we will feel tomorrow.
For a few hours, though, tomorrow seemed far away as Kiss and Def Leppard brought their biggest hits to Tampa.
The crowd enjoyed the show, but Def Leppard's songs moved the crowd more. Joe Elliot may not hit the high notes as well as he did in Def Leppard's glory days, but the well-preserved band gave nostalgia a good name.
Foolin' was a reminder that behind the '80s production there was a talented group of songwriters. Another huge hit, Hysteria, was accompanied by MTV-era videos and pictures meant to remind concert-goers of their own youth, but it more reminded us of how much better the guys in Def Leppard have aged than the rest of us. It was followed by some of their biggest hits - “Rocket,” “Armageddon It” (sadly, the Brits don't always have better grammar than Americans) and “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” a dirty song that sounds positively quaint in the era of “Blurred Lines.”
By The Tampa Tribune 2014.
By William Clark
Not wasting any time, the band immediately launched into their catalog of originals, and much to the delight of the audience, exploded into the instantly recognizable guitar riff of "Let it Go" from 1981's High 'n' Dry.
Keeping in mind their short running time on the shared bill, Def Leppard kept the audience at a fevered pitch with some of their well-known anthems from Hysteria , including a crowd favorite, "Animal".
The majority of songs which appeared during the concert were selected from Def Leppard's diamond-certified studio albums, Pyromania and Hysteria, a classification presented when a band achieves the feat of moving more than ten million copies of one particular release. While some diehard Def Leppard fans may scoff at relying solely upon songs which happened to hit high on the charts, there weren't any complaints as the band moved through "Love Bites" and "Foolin'".
One particularly standout moment arrived when the members of Def Leppard sat down for an unplugged set comprised of Retro Active power ballad "Two Steps Behind" and "Bringin' on the Heartbreak". The latter incorporated a chilling conversion to a crushing distortion, courtesy of lead guitarist, Phil Collen, while frontman, Joe Elliott, belted out some very impressive blood curdling primal screams.
Following the final chord progressions to "Pour Some Sugar on Me", the Floridian audience were on their feet and demanding an encore. Def Leppard was more than courteous to oblige, and returned onstage to the familiar gibberish which preludes "Rock of Ages".
"We've got something to say!" Joe Elliot proclaimed, above the roars of the crowd. After a few near ear shattering cymbal crashes, the show could have easily and smartly ended. But the rock icons had more as they unleashed a second helping of "Photograph".
By Guitar International 2014.
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